Gary Oldman Hints At ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Sequels

Even though Gary Oldman is actually working the press circuit right now in order to promote his much-buzzed about new film, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (check back soon for Screen Rant‘s review), entertainment journalists just cannot refrain from trying to get the actor to spill the beans on his next project: the highly-anticipated Dark Knight Rises.

Oldman, for what it’s worth, has been quite willing to discuss director Christopher Nolan’s third Caped Crusader film, between his teasing it as an epic conclusion to Nolan’s Dark Knight saga and mentioning minor plot details that appear to hint at the movie’s comic book influences.

In a new interview with Crave Online, Oldman reiterates much of what he’s previously said about The Dark Knight Rises (ie. how it has an excellent plot, that Bane serves as a great villain in the film, etc.). However, on the topic of whether or not the movie feels like a proper conclusion to Nolan’s re-telling of the Bruce Wayne story, Oldman had something of particular interest to offer.

Here, to quote, is what Oldman told the site:

“Yeah, yeah. For us I think [‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is] the end. Whether they will make more, my guess is probably. I mean, they don’t have [the Harry Potter franchise] anymore. So, there could be a Batman 4 & 5. It may be Chris [Nolan] overseeing it in a producorial position, but for us and for Chris I think that’s it. It’s a great way to go out though. It’s a great story. Epic, epic thing it is.”

So, there are a couple of ways you could interpret Oldman’s comments here:

While The Dark Knight Rises completely wraps up Bruce Wayne’s personal story arc (as re-envisioned by Nolan), Warner Bros. will undoubtedly make more Batman flicks in the future, be they part of a rebooted franchise and/or one that directly ties-in to the seemingly-inevitable Justice League movie.

The Dark Knight Rises storyline could be continued on in future installments, which maintain the narrative continuity of Nolan’s trilogy.

Seeing how the Internet is currently ablaze with debates about whether or not Nolan will in fact have Bruce Wayne die by the conclusion of The Dark Knight Rises, Oldman’s statement may (or might not) hint at a definite answer to that question.

Will Batman still be standing after his battle against Bane in 'Dark Knight Rises'?

Warner Bros. previously announced its intention to maintain the Batman franchise as its DC comic book movie “centerpiece,” in the wake of The Dark Knight Rises‘ release. However, the studio has also made it know the series will be revamped, so that there can be crossovers between the Batman universe and other superhero series (Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.).

That’s all to say: chances are good we won’t see a significantly older Bruce Wayne after the backstory featured in Nolan’s Batman trilogy, regardless of whether or not the character sacrifices his life in the fight against Bane. So, best to not count on someone of age and stature like, say, Stephen Lang (Avatar, Terra Nova) donning the Caped Crusader’s cowl onscreen in the future.

Still – seeing how there’s been increased speculation of late that Nolan might be taking some pretty big cues from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns comic book in his final Batman flick, one has to wonder: Will The Dark Knight Rises nonetheless end on an ambiguous note that (partially) sets the stage for the film’s storyline to continue on in later installments? It certainly wouldn’t be the first non-clear-cut ending to a Nolan movie (see: Inception)…